Author
Topic: Jay-z and Beyonce lockdown the ward? (Read 4682 times)

I have no problem with this. I wish I scored a private room after giving birth for $X/night but none were available. If Beyonce and Jay-Z paid to have a private wing of the hospital, then it is up to the hospital to work out the logistics. If Security was wandering parts of the hospitals and denying access to areas on a whim then that is bad, but sometimes the person they are being paid to protect/escort has to get from Point A to Point B and although it's an inconvenience they usually do their best to make it go as quickly as possible.

The article I read said that the one father complained that he was held either in or out of the NICU and waiting room area three times one day and once another day while she was in the hallway. I doubt she lingers around in hallways so I took this to mean for maybe a minute or two as she moved between rooms. I honestly don't see what the big deal is unless he was kept away from his babies for a considerable amount of time (Which, when it comes to sick babies wouldn't be very long. I'd give them 10 or 15 minutes before I got upset) in which case I could see complaining to the hospital administration. I don't don't see why he went to the tabloids unless he was hoping for an $apology$.

You know what? I don't have to listen to a private bodyguard - he's not a law enforcement officer, he can't tell me what I can/can't do. If hospital security tells me I can't go in, that's one thing, but a private bodyguard can kiss my happy behind. Rough me up in the NICU...I double dog dare you.

The hospital has issued a statement, and said that they did NOT pay money to have their own wing.

"The suggestion that the couple paid $1.3 million to rent an entire maternity floor is simply not true."

The rep adds, "The family is housed in an executive suite at the hospital and is being billed the standard rate for those accommodations."

According to the rep, "The family does have its own security detail on site. However, the hospital has been and continues to be in control of managing all security at the facility. We have made every effort to ensure minimal disruption to other families experiencing the births of their own children over the past three days."

I just showed this story to DH, he and I recently had our second child and she was held in the NICU for a time.I can't see a hospital denying access to a baby, or babies in this case, in the NICU. We were admitted 23 1/2 hours a day, they asked us to be outside only during shift changes. Yeah, there were security measures. We had to show our bracelets and all that, though eventually the nurses knew us well enough to open the door and let us in, but even when they had a transport team in there they didn't ask us to leave or anything. They asked that, when they were physically moving the baby, we stay where we were, but never to leave.However, if it is true about the dad being kept in or out, well, in the words of my husband "I don't care if you're a superstar, the richest man in the world, or even the flippin' president, no one is keeping me from my child and if private security guards (DH is one) think they have that power I'll get the police there to give them a reality check".

I think there are more details here that would clarify things. Admittedly I didn't do exhaustive research, but a quick Google shows that: 1) They did rent out a floor/suite of rooms (it wasn't just placed on lockdown), and this is apparently a service this hospital provides to anyone willing to pay for it (private/reserved space) 2). In several stories the only actual parent complaining of access issues is this one dad, when I would think there would be at least one other parent willing to go on record if it had been that big of a disruption and 3) even for that dad, the only specific incident I saw cited was when he was held IN the NICU for 20 minutes while Beyonce was transported in the hallway. I all seems a bit "tempest in a teapot" and generated a bit too much by one individual.

Agreed. I wondered if the dad was making a big old fuss to get his name in the papers and some $$$.

My first thought was that he thought he could come and go as he pleased, the hospital perhaps performed normal ID checks he objected to and he blamed Beyonce and Jay-Z.

Like someone said upthread - this was a hospital administration thing. If Beyonce and Jay-Z were allowed to rent out the space, I doubt they were also the ones patrolling it and "locking it down". They were probably kinda busy.

That was my reaction as well--the delays reported in the Daily News story (which contained those lines that were quoted as well) all seemed to be about 10 minutes long.

As for "arranging for a private birth"--well, I want to give birth in a hospital. W/ a fully staffed operating room down the hall, and a NICU close at hand as well. How easy are those to arrange in a private birth, I wonder?

A 'group' of parents are getting together as they were kept from NICU by couples bodyguards. They are considering legal action.

Oh for heavenes sakes... that seems totally excessive. How long were these people actually prevented from seeing their babies or held up in the lobby? A minute? An hour? A whole day? I know that it must have been hard for these parents but come on, lets be realistic. If the reason for being kept from the NICU for a few minutes was because of a some regular Joe with no money but a severe emergency (hypothetically) I highly doubt anyone would be talking "Lawsuit". I think people just know that the couple have money and are using their "inconvenience"as a way to exploit that. Mob mentality and all...From what I can tell, any delay of any parent visiting lasted but a few minutes (likely during couple/baby transfer periods or shift changes) and no one was ever fully banned from the NICU, or lobby while the couple was there. A few minor inconveniences were had, sure, but nothing lawsuit worthy.

This is getting ridiculous IMO. I recognize that a new parents emotions are high, and don't dismiss how inconvenient any delays must have been but let's be reasonable here.

Yes, on receiving the new information, it appears that people were slightly to moderately inconvenienced, but no one was kept from their babies indefinitely. A twenty-minute delay entering or leaving is not worth suing over - goodness knows, in hospitals delays are pretty well the order of the day.

Logged

My cousin's memoir of love and loneliness while raising a child with multiple disabilities will be out on Amazon soon! Know the Night, by Maria Mutch, has been called "full of hope, light, and companionship for surviving the small hours of the night."

But it wasn't a no-money joe with a genuine emergency; it was an over-indulged prima donna who is too full of herself and whose outrageous request should never have been accommodated - especially not at the expense of parents in the NICU. In 20 minutes, anybody in ICU can die. So beyonce is so special that her personal sense of security merits blocking parents' access to newborns with an acknowledged survival risk?

The only rational response to beyonce's request would have been, "who do you think you are? Princess "Catherine"?

The hospital is accountable for not only having acceded to the demand, but for doing so with no sensitivity for the other patients. But beyonce was a spoiled brat to have asked for special treatment.

« Last Edit: January 10, 2012, 10:39:12 AM by Fleur-de-Lis »

Logged

• Finally we shall place the Sun himself at the center of the Universe.

Yes, on receiving the new information, it appears that people were slightly to moderately inconvenienced, but no one was kept from their babies indefinitely. A twenty-minute delay entering or leaving is not worth suing over - goodness knows, in hospitals delays are pretty well the order of the day.

I would say that in the case of newborns in the NICU, a twenty-minute delay could have been a very big deal. What if one of the infants in the NICU had died while the parent was kept away? Would people still say that it was no big deal, things happen? I seriously doubt it.

That being said, I actually don't entirely blame Beyonce and and Jay Z on this. They wanted something specific and had the means to pay for it. Yes, they could have gone to a private birthing center, but they didn't.

The problem lies mostly with the hospital's implementation of what they wanted. The hospital seems to have forgotten that they were not the only patients on that ward and should have planned accordingly. They failed to do so and I do think that they owe an apology to the parents who were inconvenienced. While it would be nice if Jay Z and Beyonce did, I don't think they are required to.

But it wasn't a no-money joe with a genuine emergency; it was an over-indulged prima donna who is too full of herself and whose outrageous request should never have been accommodated - especially not at the expense of parents in the NICU. In 20 minutes, anybody in ICU can die. So beyonce is so special that her personal sense of security merits blocking parents' access to newborns with an acknowledged survival risk?

The only rational response to beyonce's request would have been, "who do you think you are? Princess "Catherine"?

The hospital is accountable for not only having acceded to the demand, but for doing so with no sensitivity for the other patients. But beyonce was a spoiled brat to have asked for special treatment.